An electric pressure cooker is a sealed device that usually uses electricity as the source of energy in the process of cooking food using water or some other cooking liquid, without permitting any liquids or air to escape below a set pressure point. Pressure cooking is a method that gets foods ready more quickly and saves energy more than other conventional cooking methods.

Utilizing this device can significantly reduce cooking time. Cooking by using this takes just 1/3 of times to prepare in comparison to presenting other cooking techniques. For instance, an entire chicken could be cooked within twenty minutes, and boiled taters can anticipate to serve in around 8 minutes.

Food cooked by doing this is nicer, as a lot of flavours and nutrition are maintained. This will make some meals, especially veggies much more healthy, and much more appealing because the colour can also be maintained

Less energy can be used, which can help to conserve money. As cooking occasions are reduced, the different options are a shorter period in the kitchen area and much more time doing another things you must do.

Various kinds of cooking could be completed in this device. Technology-not only for steaming, braising, boiling, poaching and baking.

Popular dishes made by doing this include sauces, veggies and meat. You will find many ways to use your device as you grow more knowledgeable by using it. Foods that take several hrs cooked within the oven, could be completed in minutes now.

When selecting this device, the greater the temperature, the faster the meals will prepare. Based on your needs you may want to consider how big you’ll need.

Cooking by doing this uses a smaller amount water than boiling, so that you can reduce the possibility of getting many hot pans around the stove previously. This is often especially helpful for those who have young children.

Cooking utilizing a pressure helps you to kill more bacteria and infections, so that your food is going to be far better to eat.

You may also make use of your device to sterilize baby bottles, meaning for those who have an infant, you don’t have to possess a separate costly steriliser. If you are a jam maker, or need to make your personal jam, you may also make use of your device to sterilise your jam jars too.

Although there have been from time to time issues with this device once they first grew to become available, modern device tend to be safer and also have more valves to manage steam and also the temperature.

How to Use a Electric Pressure Cooker

Things to Keep in Mind When Selecting the Best Electric Pressure Cooker Fit Your Needs

Size and Capacity Features

You need to be strict when choosing your ideal fit from the various types and models of electric pressure cookers. Get your preferred size right – remember that this is probably a lifetime investment. Normally, cookers come in the style of a saucepan that can easily be used to cook vegetables and other side dishes. In the event that the pot is to be used for a large family, then, large pot style cooker is the best option. Thus, when purchasing a best electric pressure cooker, you must be very careful to select the correct size.

There are pressure cookers that have the capacity to hold more than 40 quarts – but do you really need it all? Well, you should neither underestimate nor overestimate the size that you really need .From sauce pan styles (for vegetables and side dishes) to large stock cooker styles (for family meals), there is a host of sizes to choose from.

Material used

Pressure cookers can be made of either Aluminum or stainless steel. Though less expensive, it’s advisable to avoid pots that are solely made of aluminum. This is in view of the fact that they are less durable than those made of steel. A lot of usage will end in the pot being deformed and damaged. Moreover, the aluminum used in built-in inserts can react with acidic ingredients which can cause food to have a different flavor than originally intended. Save up and make a life-time investment of a quality cooker by choosing the stainless steel models. However, steel is not a very good conductor of heat and a device made solely of stainless steel would have hot spots – areas that are hotter as compared to others. This means that food will take longer to cook. The best option would be to find a pressure cooker that has an aluminum-coated bottom. This way, you get to taste the best of both worlds.

Even though maintaining an electric powered, battery powered and gas powered string trimmers are different in a lot of aspects, you can actually find some similarities. Gas powered trimmers often require a lot more maintenance as compared to an electric powered tool because of the several mechanics involved.

All weed eating tools have an owner’s manual with maintenance instructions included in the package. In most cases, you can find a maintenance chart in the manual which splits several tasks into specific categories based on how often inspections are necessary.

Tips on Maintaining your Weed Eater

To properly maintain your weed eater, you just have to follow these tips. While most of the points given are for best gas powered weed eaters, some of them apply and are relevant to weed eaters of any type.

Conduct an inspection on your weed eater before using. Try looking for any loose parts and find out if the deflector is not broken. If you are using a gas powered trimmer, try checking for a leaking gas. Also try to check the head of the weed eater for any debris which might still be present around the shaft from a previous trimming job.

Turn on the machine and allow the engine to warm up until it reaches its normal operating temperature. Once it has warmed up enough, release the accelerator trigger and make sure that the line does not revolve at idle speed. Even though the line shouldn’t revolve at idle speed, your tool’s engine must not stall. If you are using a gas powered trimmer, you should clean the carburetor air filter or replace it if necessary. Also clean the muffler spark arrestor screens before you adjust the settings for your carburetor.

Try running your weed eater at normal operating speed and find out if there are signs of unusual vibration. Even though shock absorbing parts can’t affect the operation and performance of your machine, vibrations could cause negative effects to the user, especially fatigue and possible permanent damage to health over time. If you feel numbness in your finger when using a weed eater, it could mean that the level of vibration is already harmful.

After using your weed eating tool, don’t forget to clean and inspect it once the engine has cooled down enough. Check your machine’s spark arrestor screen which is located in the muffler exhaust port for those models which have catalytic converter exhaust systems. If there are any obvious debris present, you should clear it out and replace your muffler screen in case the debris blocks the exhaust flow.

For gas powered weed eaters, it is necessary to replace the spark plugs after 100 hours of use. You can take a look at your manual for the correct gap setting.

Make sure you check for lubricant in your machine’s gearbox every week. You can do this by unscrewing the cap on the gearbox port. If no grease is present, add a small amount to the port then replace the cap afterwards. However, you should always remember not to completely fill up the gearbox.

Maintaining your weed eating tool will allow you to increase your machine’s overall durability. By simply following these easy maintenance tips, you can make sure your weed eating tool will last.

Ceiling fans include the last touch to practically any type of space in your home. Just what’s even more, by having a ceiling fan in your living room, dining-room or kitchen, you may be nicely surprised by the advantages you derive. Finally, ceiling fans are reasonably affordable as well as easy to mount: within as brief a time as a half-hour you could have beautifully developed ceiling fans set up in your house.

A ceiling fan in your living room gives the room a classy allure – one that merely shouts class and also design. Just what’s even more, you can efficiently handle the area temperature with your freshly set up appliance. Ceiling fans will kip down either a clockwise or a counterclockwise instructions relying on your specs. Rotating right, the fan is set to push hot air from the ceiling down right into the space and also can successfully assist you lessen home heating expenses. On the other hand, when set counterclockwise, the ceiling fan will efficiently help cool down the room as it attracts the air towards the ceiling faster.

Conversely, a fan that is as small will certainly have a reducing affect on your climate command and also in some cases it will give the ceiling fan the look of being “ingested up” by the space. Therefore, when acquiring ceiling fans you need to keep these factors to consider in thoughts; the larger the area the bigger the fan you will certainly call for and also vice versa. You can visit Lightning Ceiling Fans to find out more about buying ceiling fan factors.

For a ceiling fan to be efficient in any way, your ceiling needs to be no less than 8 to 9 feet high. Figuring that a ceiling fan can take up roughly a foot of room, this will leave your ceiling fan placed approximately 7 feet over the floor. Any lower than that as well as you run the risk of taller people having unpleasant experiences with your ceiling fan!

Ceiling fans are designed in a range of colours as well as additionally have a variety of cutter designs. You could acquire ceiling fans with black, white, or wood tinted blades as well as you could even get cutters with pastels or intense, joyful colours if you so select. The brighter tinted fans are perfect for children’s rooms and could offer as a distinctive device.

The pressure cooker is a crucial part of any modern kitchen. Just imagine cooking several kilos of tough beef or pork without one! There are lots of different dishes you can cook with the help of a reliable pressure cooker such as stews, soups, casseroles and sauces. Thanks to the pressure kept within the pot, meat, vegetables and even bone can become incredibly tender. But when it comes to getting the best pressure cooker, there are lots of considerations you have to think of. This is not a simple journey because not every pressure cooker is built the same. To choose the best and not waste your money on something that was less than your expectations. I have researched and collected the opinions of many customers.

Advantages of Using Pressure Cooker

If you are one of the few people who are quite tight on the budget then you are seriously considering all the odds whether or not you really need this device. You might be even skeptical whether the investment is worth it. To clarify all your concerns, the following are the advantages of using a pressure cooker.

Comfort in all aspects: Everybody knows that the main problem about the conventional cooking method is that it is dirty, takes a lot of time to both prepare and clean and will require the cooperation of clear skies. With the pressure cooker, you no longer have to worry about these problems since you can cook indoors and the fuel required is easy-to-purchase rather than filthy charcoal.

Less fuel wasted: Remember those times that you only have to cooking for a short period of time and end up leaving a lot of your red charcoals to burn out uselessly. You can never have the ability to stop your charcoals from burning and save them for later use. With pressure cooker, you can be stopped and continued at any time you want. No fuel wasted and you have the liberty to cooking no matter how small the quantity of the products needing cook. Less fuel wasted translates to more money saved and could even mean a lot in the long run.

Quality products: In the conventional stovetop system, put your eyes away from the oven for a few seconds and you might end up with burnt products. A lot of people waste quality meat. These problems will be solved with a stainless steel pressure cooker. With a stainless steel pressure cooker, you not only have the freedom to control the temperature that you can control your cooking time.

Conclusion

You will be wrong to think that looking for the best pressure cooker is easy. Each one is quite different from the other and you might be stumped at most times between two devices, though the secret choosing solely lies on yourself. Know the things you want and need, also know your limitations like price and working environment.

Once you have decided, the next step will involve looking for a specific product. Remember that nothing will be as perfect as you imagined it and the only thing we can do is to find the nearest to your imagination. If you are stumped with two similar devices, online reviews are always at your aid. In the end, what matters is your personal choice.

Process in Vita-Mix on High Speed, Forward until steaming hot

Use the Vita-Mix 3600 to cook by friction while it blends or purees or thickens soups, sauces, puddings, gravies, etc. There are no hot spots, therefore no scorching or burning. Also there is no lumping or curdling or need to hand stir. The Vita-Mix actually boils foods, or can quickly break the cells and mingle soup flavors without boiling to preserve vitamins, yet produce soups that can taste as if cooked for hours. These recipes were developed for use in the Vita-Mix machine, but can be adapted to various kitchen appliances. Corn Soup
If contents tend to boil up through the Action Dome, remove a cupful at a time through the spigot as Vita-Mix runs and pour back into container through Action Dome. Continue to run until raw taste disappears (about 3 minutes). (Sample from spigot.)
Boil until celery is tender. Serves 5. (For low fat version of Lentil Soup, omit salt and butter and substitute fat-free broth for bouillon cube and water.) Swiss Cream of Celerey Soup Saute:

Process in Vita-Mix on High Speed, Forward to cook

Process on Low Speed, Forward, using Forward-Reverse Action several times just to mix thoroughly. Then knead. Use a rapid Tap-Release Action 6 times, punch down, loosen flour from corners and push to center. Repeat this process several times until most of the contents are mixed together. (This does not make a nice ball like the bread dough.) Knock dough onto lightly floured board and form into ball.
Place dough on waxed paper and divide dough in half. Roll each half to make a 12 inch square. Sprinkle with coarse salt; roll lightly with rolling pin to press in salt. Cut into 1 inch squares with knife or pizza cutter. Transfer to lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake in moderate oven at 350 [deg.] for 15 minutes, or until lightly brown. Cool on cookie sheet on wire rack. Store in loosely covered container. Makes 1/2 pound. Soup From Leftover Potatoes

Process in Vita-Mix on High Speed, Forward until steaming hot

Serves 5. (For low fat version of Hash Soup, substitute 1 cup fat-free broth for water and bouillon, omit salt and butter.) Quick Hot (Unboiled) Soup (Can be boiled, if you want.) Start with Vita-Mix half full of water, cold or hot or start with the Vita-Mix full of fresh tomatoes. Clamp on Action Dome. Process on High Speed, Forward to heat while you add one at a time (using Forward-Reverse after each addition, if you wish to hasten drawing vegetables into the soup):
When steam starts to rise from the Action Dome, you may serve through the pressurized spigot or let it run longer to boil and cook if you wish. (Always run on High Speed, Forward both to cook and to pressurize the spigot.) VARIATIONS:
Add any of the following as Vita-Mix runs: Leftover potatoes, cooked or canned peas, beans or other vegetables, slice whole wheat bread, etc. Chocolate Sauce

Process in Vita-Mix on High Speed, Forward to cook

Dispense, warm from spigot. Makes 1-3/4 to 2 cups. Good over ice cream, hot cereal, pancakes or waffles. Any left over can be stored in refrigerator and heated in the Vita-Mix to serve again. Pumpkin Pudding

Process in the Vita-Mix on High Speed, Forward to cook

Test through spigot to know when custard thickens. When custard coats a silver spoon, turn off switch to stop the cooking. Do not overcook. Serve warm from spigot. Vanilla Custard Pudding

Process in Vita-Mix on High Speed, Forward to cook

Immediately turn off and dip out, or dispense through spigot. Chill in custard cups or sherbet glasses. Serves 6. VARIATIONS:
Add 3 teaspoons cocoa; or a square of semi-sweet chocolate; or 1 cupful finely ground almonds; or a ripe, sweet banana into the Vita-Mix with first ingredients. Or fold in 1/2 cup shredded coconut when finished; or put sliced bananas in bottom of serving dishes before adding pudding.

The kitchen has become the focal point of design and entertainment at the Newport Turtle in Newport Beach, California. Saga has decided to make the kitchen the stage. As Saga states in the Newport Turtle’s menu: We hope you’ll like what we’ve become: we are proud of our new place . We belive in showing off our kitchen, surrounded by an abundance of food, our charcoal broiler and our fresh pasta.

By showing off the kitchen to its clientele, Saga is acknowledging the growing culinary sophistication of its high-achiever, high-income customer base. Today’s upscale diners are more interested than their predecessors in seeing how food is prepared because they are more serious about the meals they prepare themselves. The visual and tactile elements of cooking–the flames of the broiler, the colors and textures of ingredients the aromas, and the interaction of the chefs, are all combined to heighten and enrich the dining experience. Today, the process is as enjoyable as the product to the sophisticated restaurant patron.

At center stage: the kitchen, a state-of-the-art exhibition facility with a double mesquite-fired grill, pasta making equipment, pantry and saute stations, a bounty of native ingredients on view, and a stylish black-and-white-and-chrome new look.

The original black-and-white tiled floor was retained in the remodeling.

To the left of the kitchen, a food bar was added, flanked by blackboard-clad columns which promote featured specials. The food bar provides both the cocktail lounge and a small, private “quiet room” to the left of the entrance with oysters and clams, hot and cold appetizers, carved-to-order sandwiches, and other light fare. The quiet room, which invites conversational twosomes, doubles as a waiting area during busy periods.

To the right of the kitchen is a brightly lit, glass-enclosed hexagonal kiosk from which a variety of specialty desserts are displayed and served. The dessert kiosk and the food bar surround and highlight the central display kitchen and food theatre.
The new kitchen occupies space once allotted to the front line of a standard completely enclosed kitchen. A portion of the original kitchen now serves as a prep, storage, and dishwashing facility, located to the rear of the display kitchen and adjacent to the dining room.

Concealed from diners by the back wall of a service stand, the ordering and pickup window accommodates both pantry and saute items coming from those two stations at the rear of the new kitchen, and broiled items coming off the grill. An electronic cash register and counter for check preparation also occupy the service stand area.

During lunch and dinner, four people work the display kitchen: a grill man, pantry person, saute person, and chef Reinhard Dorfhuber, who functions as expeditor. The saute station also covers roast prime rib and rack of lamb, which are served in addition to the Newport Turtle’s grilled specialties, pasta dishes, sandwiches, and salads.

With Such Designs, The Following Are The Advantages Of The Kitchen Stations

Kitchen stations are placed in logical sequence: Adjacent to the receiving door are the walk-in refrigerators and the walk-in freezer, so foods can be temperature controlled immediately. Insulation for the walk-in lies under a brick platform so carts can be wheeled in and out, conserving time and energy. The manager’s office overlooks the receiving area, a logical location for control purposes, the potwashing station sits in a far corner of the kitchen, away from everything except the two stations that need to be near it: the food preparation area and the cooking battery.

The kitchen and hot serving lines are separated only by a wall with pass-thru cabinets in it: This way, small batches of recently prepared foods are kept hot and can be taken as needed by service workers.

A small kitchen poses no real problems for “Jericho,” as the cafeteria is called, because a substantial amount of preparation is done at the serving stations.

Behind the prepared salad station is a self-contained prep station. An ice machine, work table, sanitizing sink, and refrigerator permanently sit behind the serving space in case a worker needs them.

A nine-topping salad bar and soup station are self-serve only, which contributes to the non-labor-intensive nature of Jericho’s set-up.

Following sequentially in a semi-circle are the hot food counter, grill counter, ice cream counter, and sandwich counter. Final prep is done by the service workers, relieving the back-of-the-house of some work while enhancing a quality image.

Sandwiches are prepared to order, which eliminates work in the kitchen.

Fresh hamburgers are cooked to order at the grill station, and served on a local favorite, the Kaiser roll.

A major benefit of our set-up is that it would be easy for each station to be totally self-service

A two-sided beverage counter is centrally located. That’s the one station that is used by everyone, no matter what they eat, so it is easy to get at from either end.

The heater and soap dispenser are built into the equipment, so portions are consistently accurate.

Also attached to the dishwasher, near the place where the workers stand, if a faucet for handwashing. The convenience of this faucet helps assure that workers will wash their hands when necessary, as they won’t have to travel any distance to do so.

Menu

The menus are displayed in two quality-enhancing forms. Two TV screens in the serving area flash daily messages and daily menu specials. But to alert the office workers about upcoming meals, white and red weekly printed menus are distributed. Each lists the standards such as grill items, sandwiches, salads, and desserts, in addition to the two hot entrees, one soup, and one special salad of the day. The menu rotates on a five-week cycle.

With vending services at night, the two main meal periods are breakfast and lunch, with about 700 lunches served daily. The employee customer base is predominantly suburban women who tend to eat lightly during the day. The office workers we serve seem to be mostly homeowners and young girls who live with their parents, who go home to a big dinner every night. This is a change from our customer base in our city offices, where many workers make lunch the big meal of the day. Workers are all white collar, 85 percent of them clerical workers. About 15 percent of lunch sales goes just to salads.

Additional menu items might be added when the weather gets warmer, as a courtyard adjacent to the dining area will likely become an outdoor dining area. Barbecued meats and a hot dog cart are being considered for outdoor service.
The hotel was designed to keep chefs skinny, jokes Norman Wade, executive chef. His humorous observation refers to the Westin’s “heavy vertical” emphasis which has resulted in a design awkward for the implementation of foodservice operations. It is a design which requires much shuttling between floors.

All of the hotel’s food and beverage support services (purchasing, shipping, receiving, storage, dishwashing, etc.) as well as the main kitchen and three satellite kitchens are located on different floors.
The Westin features informal dining at the 204-seat Brasserie; upscale dining at the popularly priced 250-seat Turner Fisheries Bar and Restaurant; and fine dining at Ten Huntington which seats 120 in addition to a private room for 12.
Food and beverage director Robert Niederhauser took a direct approach to the problem long before the Westin opened its doors last July. “We had no choice but to make the space work for us; the opportunity was there. So, the chef and I spent a great deal of time studying the blueprints

The dishwashing facilities can be found, along with housekeeping services, on the fourth floor

To facilitate fast movement, the majority of equipment is on wheels. All of these “vertical transport” pieces can be plugged in to keep the food warm–an important consideration when the food is being transported between floors. All of this movement makes timing–and well-maintained elevators–crucial.

The restaurant satellite kitchen located on the lobby level is nearly self-contained. Although only 40 percent of the kitchen’s space (4,055 sq. ft.) is used to prepare meals for Ten Huntington’s customers, the kitchen has no problem producing the 120 to 140 nightly covers.

Fresh food orders arrive daily at the loading dock, which is located on the street level. Once received, the food is carried by the freight elevators to the third floor. Here, most of the fresh produce is issued directly to each restaurant while canned goods and other products are stored for future use in either the pantry, pass-through coolers, or the double walk-in freezers that are located just outside the kitchen.

However, another striking example of the hotel’s awkward design is evident here. Although this restaurant is open for dinner only, its kitchen is responsible for guest room dining (room service) which is available 24 hours. Approximately 60 percent of the kitchen’s space is allocated to catering guest room dining.

And to complicate matters further, this area produces room service meals only between the hours of 6 a.m. and midnight. The “night owl” menu, available between midnight and 6 a.m., is produced by the satellite kitchen on the fifth floor. This kitchen is responsible for providing the hotel’s 1,000 employees with free meals in their dining room, the Cantina. As a result, the kitchen is open 24 hours to accommodate employees on rotating shifts.

Two complete service lines feed the counter, instead of one. One line opens for breakfast, both open for a busy lunch. The second line closes immediately after lunch.

The kitchen utilizes two standard, full-size broilers, two full-size fryers, two full-size drink stations, plus four full-size microwaves. Almost everything else is reduced in size.

Moving across the front of the kitchen behind the counter, the components in the drink station are normal sized. Next to that, adjacent to the main service line, is a full size holding station for burgers. But adjacent to the auxiliary service line, the custome-fabricated holding station is only about two-thirds the size of the main holding station.

The service lines extend back vertically from the holding station, just as in a typical Burger King. The computerized fryers are standard, but the “dump station” for fries is half the size of a typical dump station.

On the main service line, the broiler is full-size, but the work area where burgers are assembled and condiments are added is only half the size of a normal Buger King. Two standard microwaves are fixed above the condiment area.
Diab looks for basement space for storage and further conserves valuable square footage by giving the manager a stand-up office in the corner of the kitchen.

Cleaning System

A spray cleaning system allows for sanitizing the entire kitchen and surrounding areas. The system is used to spray down equipment and floors twice a day, once after lunch and again after dinner. Since nearly everything in the kitchen is stainless steel, all of it can be hosed down; first a soap cycle is used then a rinse.

During each shift there are five line cookes on duty, and one or tow expediting chefs; two hot prep men prepare stocks, soups, and Clyde’s famous chili. Two people in a downstairs prep area slice meat and prepare salads and cold items. Two dish washers work in the kitchen’s dishwashing area. And one person is stationed in a raw bar near the dining area, serving oysters and clams.

Conclusin:

Kitchens have been designed to fit the particular establishment and to allow preparation of a varied menu. Restaurants, fast food operations, bank cafeterias, and hotels need kitchens with design elements that allow for efficient, versatile service

The Marco Polo lounge, where light items from both specialty houses and a raw bar could be enjoyed by people stopping in for cocktails or customers waiting for tables. The two restaurants share a gilded lion-flanked entrance and the open atrium-style lounge but have separate seating, menus, and staff. However, because members of a party in one restaurant can order items from the menu of the other restaurant, the kitchens must be a miracle of separate but cooperative activity.

Despite multi-course service and made-to-order preparation of 90 percent of the items on wide-ranging menus, only about 26 percent of the restaurants’ square footage is devoted to the back-of-the-house. The kitchen includes two fully equipped cooking lines, each with its own refrigeration, and a wide spectrum of specialized cooking equipment.

This economy of planning is possible because of three key factor

Speed of cooking systems in both kitchens

Lack of inhibiting cross traffic

Shared dishwashing, dry storage, receiving, and prep areas.

About 90 percent of the Szechwan Palace’s 63-item entree menu is prepared in woks. On the Chinese kitchen’s custom-designed, five-wok range, a single chef with two helpers can put out five or six different dishes every three to four minutes and up to 15 portions of each dish can be prepared in a wok.

Teamwork and layout of the cooking station also speed up production

There a chef’s helper chops and plates all the vegetables, meats, fowl and seafood for each dish, then hands it the wok chef.

The wok chef drops the food into the sizzling wok, adds necessary sauce and seasonings which are on an ingredient tray next to his range.

Three or four minutes later

The dish is plated and handed down the line, and the wok chef brushes and rinses his wok, readying it for the next dish. The plated meal goes to a chef’s helper stationed at a 20-compartment garnish unit who then places it on the tray line for service.

Next on the cooking line is a Chinese smoking cabinet where duck for Peking duck is smoked a day in advance and appetizer barbecue ribs smoke throughout the service periods. Beside this oven is a knee-high range top for soups. Often the executive chef will be stationed here to oversee final garnishing of the more elaborate dishes prepared at both the wok and fry stations.

Traffic Area

This slower traffic area is purposely positioned between the wok station and the appetizer station, the other very high production section at the front of the line. Because management anticipated the popularity of the Chinese appetizers for patrons of both restaurants, the lounge and catered parties, this station was designed for maximum flexibility and capacity. Two double fryers, a convection steamer, saute range, a microwave oven and a double door reach-in refrigerator allow two chefs to prepare everything from Shanghai spring rolls to pot stickers in enormous quantities.

A line parallel to the main cooking line has prep tables, a sink and several reach-in refrigerators where a chef’s helper is stationed to feed ingredients and utensils and take finished dishes from the chefs for carry-out packaging.

Traffic up and down the line is thus minimized, yet stations can be replenished and dishes delivered to the waiters’ stations on a minute-to-minute basis. Two entrances to the Chinese kitchen help keep service to both the main dining room and party rooms running smoothly.

To control traffic during service periods, pass-thru windows between the two kitchens are limited to a corridor in front of the walk-in coolers and another through the dish room. At these points, the order expediters of each kitchen can confer with both staffs to coordinate cross orders.

Stations In the Kitchen Area

In the seafood kitchen, the preparation system and layout is very different and considerably more compact. The saute station where many of the entrees are prepared is at the front of the line closest to the dining room and to the dishroom. This station is equipped with a compartmentalized steam table for sauces, under-the-counter refrigeration and a small work area. Though each chef in this line works independently, he is still able to prepare many dishes quickly because of the fast-cooking nature of most seafoods.

The next station, manned by a broiler chef, owes its efficiency to the extremely hot temperatures produced by the mesquite grill. Convection ovens and steamers are used in this kitchen for the same reason. Most seafood entrees are prepared by these methods in five to seven minutes.

Next along this line is a pastry oven used during nonservice hours to prepare desserts for both restaurants. The main prep area for both kitchens is at the end and at right angles to this line and is equipped with a large stainless steel work surface, sink, and shelving above and below.

Along the outside of the line is a steam table and tray counter opposite the saute and grill stations where waiters pick up finished dishes, and a rolling salad and pastry refrigeration unit.

Warewashing facilities, storage, and receiving areas are shared by the two restaurants. The compact dishwashing room is located to the front of the kitchens. It is equipped with a triple tank which works much faster than conventional machines. Pot washing for the Sandpiper saute station is efficiently managed without overloading from the Chinese kitchen where woks are cleaned right at the range. Receiving and storage areas are located at the very back of the kitchens.

Conclusion

Another difficulty caused by the two separate and diverse menus is cross contamination of food and cooking odors. As well as completely separate refrigeration, two high capacity ventilation systems were installed. In addition, all equipment has top mounted compressors to allow each piece a six-inch clearance from the floor for cleaning.